


A Shard of Glass

by eleanor_raines



Category: Bloodbound (Visual Novels)
Genre: Angst, Choices, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt, Love, Pixelberry, Vampires, bloodbound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27713720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleanor_raines/pseuds/eleanor_raines
Summary: A Fic Request with the Prompt:"I know, it hurts. I'm so sorry but we have to get this out."Word Count: 1855
Relationships: Adrian Raines/Main Character (Bloodbound)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	A Shard of Glass

Agnes saw the wound before she really felt it. The survivors of the Order’s attack had scattered, disappearing into the narrow winding streets of Paris. 

Jax, Adrian, and Agnes had been sprinting down the street, putting as much distance between them and the Order as possible. As her feet pounded into the pavement, she noticed a strange sensation in her boot. There was a liquid feeling, a sickening squelching sound as she took each step.

She looked down and that is when she saw it. A large shard of glass had pierced the leather of her boots, and had embedded itself deep in her calf muscle. She didn’t know when it happened or how, but once she had laid eyes on the wound, searing pain shot up from her leg and coursed through her body. 

Agnes cried out and fell to her knees, clutching her leg as she whimpered helplessly.

Jax noticed her first. 

He had turned to make sure no one was on their tail, and he saw Agnes curled on the ground, her shoulders shaking.

“AGNES!” Jax yelled as he pivoted, quickly changing directions and charging back towards her.

It was Jax’s anguished cry that brought Adrian back to the present moment. He had been far away, his mind consumed with rage and hatred, furious at the Order for what they did to Serafine and for what they almost did to Agnes. 

He had lost himself. Completely. He had pulverized that Order soldier’s skull, shattering bones and ripping cartilage with his fist. And he had enjoyed it. He enjoyed inflicting pain, making those who tormented his kind suffer. He had become who Gaius always said he was.

At the sound of Jax’s voice, Adrian stopped running and turned to follow him, ready to defend against another Order soldier. His rage turned to horror when he saw what had caused Jax such distress.

Adrian was by her side in the blink of an eye. Jax was already examining Agnes’s leg and holding her hand, speaking soothing, comforting words to her as she hyperventilated, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Jax spoke to Adrian, his voice tight with concern, “She should be alright, but we can’t take care of her here.”

Adrian nodded decisively, and he held Agnes close, pressing his lips to her hair before scooping her up in his arms. 

They quickly returned to the apartment. Blood was dripping from Agnes’ leg as he hurriedly carried her into the bathroom.

Under the bright fluorescent light, the wound looked so much worse than Agnes had imagined. Her heart was pounding and she could see blood seeping out with each heavy beat. The adrenaline in her system had worn off and pain radiated from the gash on her leg. It was throbbing and stinging and she felt herself grow faint. 

She was trying and failing to hold back her strangled sobs as Adrian and Jax carefully examined the shard of glass. 

They had to act quickly. Jax placed her leg on his lap, and he tentatively touched the shard. The slight movement shot searing pain through her body and she couldn’t stop the scream that ripped from her chest at the sensation.

“Agnes, my love” Adrian said, holding her face gently in his hand, his forehead pressed to hers, wiping her tears away with his thumb, “Be strong, ok. I’m here.”

“Ugh, god, Adrian, it hurts. It hurts so much,” she managed to get out, holding onto his hand with a forceful grip that surprised even him.

“ **_I know, it hurts_ ** ,” he said, unable to control the shake in his voice, “ **_I’m so sorry, Agnes, but we have to get this out_ ** .”

He had been trying to hide his panic, so as not to cause her any further alarm. But the sight of her blood pooling on the tile floor of the bathroom made him feel sick. 

“Ready?” Jax asked, looking at Agnes. 

She nodded and closed her eyes, bracing for whatever agony was waiting for her on the other side of this. 

Jax deftly pulled the shard of glass from her leg and a white hot pain erupted from where it had been removed. He pulled her boot off quickly as Adrian used his teeth to tear open his palm. He pressed his hand to the wound on her leg, holding it tight against her skin.

Immediately, the pain began to subside. Adrian’s blood was slowly knitting her skin back together and each second brought her a little more relief until, at last, the wound was closed. 

They all heaved a collective sigh of relief. 

A dull ache lingered where the glass had torn through her flesh and she wasn’t able to put pressure on her leg without it buckling beneath her. Unwilling to see her in any more pain, Adrian picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed, fluffing her pillows, placing one beneath her recently injured leg.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice soft and gentle. 

“Well, I’m not gushing blood anymore, so that’s good,” Agnes said with a half smile, trying her best to be her usual good natured, optimistic self. Adrian’s face fell at her words,

“What’s wrong?” she asked’

“I just . . .” he started, the words catching in his throat, “I’m so sorry, Agnes, that you had to endure that.”

“It’s not your fault,” she assured him, taking his hands in hers. He looked at her sorrowfully. He didn’t believe that. 

She pulled him down onto the bed beside her, and nestled herself against him. 

“Thank you,” she said quietly, her voice achingly tender, “I couldn’t have gotten through it without you.”

He held her fast, resting his head against her soft hair, overcome with gratitude that she was safe and sound in his arms. 

“You should try and get some sleep,” he whispered, caressing her face gently as he lifted her face to look at him, “I’ll be right here.”

She smiled the easy and loving smile that made his heart swell. Within moments, she was fast asleep.

Even in her restful state, Adrian was unable to leave her side. He had never seen in her in such agony, and her desperate cries echoed in his head, the sight of her life blood slowly seeping out of her and onto the bathroom floor was burned into his mind. 

He didn’t realize what the feeling was at first, but as he cradled Agnes in his arms as she rested peacefully, he suddenly knew. He had never been more afraid. 

Maybe it was seeing her bleeding, but he had somehow forgotten just how delicate and fragile Agnes was. He never saw her or thought of her that way. She was as fierce and brave as any vampire he had ever met. He had been enamored of her since the day they met, but there was a more urgent need growing in him and he was finally starting to understand what it was.

He had to protect her. He had to keep her safe. He couldn’t let any harm come to her lest his world come falling down around him. Her mortal being was ostensibly weak and vulnerable, but his own vulnerability had been exposed and for the first time in years, in  _ centuries _ he had something to lose. 

Agnes was curled up next to him in bed, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm draped lazily over his abdomen. Her face was peaceful, and her breathing was even and steady. He was thankful that she had been able to sleep after the trauma she had endured.

Trauma that he might’ve prevented, had he not been so engrossed in his own rage-fueled revenge. He hated himself. He had allowed himself to become the very thing he detested and the cost was witnessing the brutal agony of the woman he was falling in love with.

The fact that Jax noticed first ate him up inside. He should’ve noticed. He wasn’t paying attention. He had lost himself, and in the process, he felt he nearly lost her. He knew the wound wasn’t fatal, but the possibility of violence befalling Agnes became very real.

“Adrian?” 

Her small, sleepy voice took him by surprise. 

“Agnes, are you alright?” he asked, immediately concerned, “Are you in pain?”

“No, I’m alright,” she said, sitting up to look at him intently, “but are you?”

“Of course,” he said, though he knew his words were hollow as soon as he spoke. 

She didn’t believe him. She looked at him skeptically, and her gaze was fraught with worry. She reached for him, her fingers trailing gently along his jawline. She felt his jaw clench and he swallowed hard.

“I shouldn’t have let this happen,” he said at last, lowering his eyes in shame.

Agnes paused, unsure of what to say. 

“Let what happen?”

Adrian gestured to her leg. 

“You were hurt. You were  _ wounded  _ and all I could think about was how I wanted to make the Order pay,” he said, his voice trembling, “I should’ve been protecting you. Instead, I was so angry that I lost myself completely.”

She looked at him for a long, scrutinizing moment. Her eyes were soft, but in them, he could see her mind working.

“Are you worried something is going to happen to me?” she asked, realizing the cause of his distress.

She had seen right through him.

“Agnes, it’s  _ all _ I can think about,” he said, his voice somber. 

They sat in silence for a moment. She understood. She knew exactly how he felt. 

“I think about it, too,” Agnes said. 

“Agnes, know that I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe,” Adrian said, overcome with emotion at the thought that Agnes was living in fear for her life.

“No, not that,” she said as she moved closer to him, taking his hand in hers and bringing it to her lips, “I worry that something will happen to  _ you _ . All the time”

Adrian was stunned and yet exhilarated by her words. He never wanted her to worry for him. He would never want to place that burden on her. But the notion that she feared for his safety as much as he feared for hers made him feel closer to her than he ever had before.

“Agnes, I will never leave you,” Adrian said, pulling her closer to him until their faces were mere inches apart, “I will be with you until the very end.”

Agnes closed the distance between them, pressing a tender kiss to his lips. 

“I will never leave you, Adrian,” she said, kissing him again, “And I will be with you even if it brings us both to ruin.”

He shuddered at her words and he kissed her passionately. A profound feeling gripped his heart and he pulled away just long enough to say, 

_ “I love you, Agnes” _

She gasped against his mouth as he kissed her again. She pulled back for a moment, and looked at him with the happiest, brightest smile on her face, her eyes sparkling with joy.

_ “Adrian . . . I love you, too.” _

\--

_Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments!_

_-Eleanor_

**Author's Note:**

> **Characters, story, & dialogue are property of Pixelberry. I’m just having some fun.**


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